Giorgia Meloni’s government is going to send new weapons to Ukraine, included anti-drone technology, with the new decree of military aid. The decree will largely be in continuity with those of the previous executive. Surface-to-air missiles would be excluded for the moment, but it cannot be ruled out that these will be included in a new package of military aid to Ukraine. Rome is ready for a new military contribution, the sixth of this kind, to Kyiv in continuity with its European partners and NATO. The Italian government is expected to approve the new package in the coming weeks. The conflict in Ukraine is moving on the terrain of drones. While Italy would provide anti-drone equipment, Russia is preparing with drones of Iranian technology.
After the approval of a united parliamentary motion of the majority last week, Meloni’s government has renewed the model adopted by the previous government until the end of 2023. A decree-law extends for 12 months, “subject to an act of address by the Chamber of Deputies, the authorization for the transfer of military means, materials, and equipment to Ukraine”. On December 13th, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto will report to Parliament on the issue and the content of the military aid decree. Also on the table is the possibility of Rome supplying Kyiv for the first time with Spike anti-tank systems. These are Israeli-made and supplied to the Italian Armed Forces.
The list of weapons supplied by the Italian government to the Ukrainian government was recently made public. In the previous packages of weapons there were also artillery pieces such as 155 mm howitzers of the PzH2000, Fh70 cannons, and American Browning M2 machine guns. Italy also sent Stinger missiles and M130 tracked vehicles to Ukraine. These vehicles are all part of the list of weapons in the previous decrees. Overall, Italy is estimated to have sent EUR 300-500 million worth of weapons to Ukraine (NATO data). The new aid package is in continuity with the electoral promises of the new right-wing government, which has made support for Kyiv one of its foreign policy cornerstones so far.
Amedeo Gasparini
(Published on amedeogasparini.com)